Monday, June 25, 2007

Mountain Meadows Movie opening postponed

A movie about the Mountain Meadows Massacre is sending a big ripple ofemotion through descendants on both sides of the story. Somedescendants say it puts the story into the right perspective, whileothers say it's grossly inaccurate.

The movie quotes Brigham Young as saying, "I am the voice of God, andanyone who doesn't like it will be hewn down."

You ask people on either side of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, andthey all say the same thing. The movie "September Dawn" puts theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a very bad light.

In the movie trailer, the announcer says, "The reputation of one ofthis nation's mightiest religious figures has been preserved andprotected until now." However, some descendants of the massacre saythe LDS Church needs to be put in a bad light over what happened.

Burr Fancher is a descendant of Alexander Fancher who led the groupkilled in the massacre. He says, "It put the saddle on the right horseas far as I'm concerned on who planned and ordered the massacre."

Fancher says the LDS Church has never officially apologized for it,and he feels the church should not be the stewards of the MountainMeadows Monument. Fancher says the movie showed how fanatical Mormonswere at the time. He says, "I don't think it had anything to do with[the] current-day Mormon Church, it had something to do with thechurch in 1857."

But, some members of the LDS Church say that's not good enough.Dorothy Lee says she hopes people don't believe what they see. Shesays, "I'm a convert to the church. If I would have seen this movie[before converting], I would have run in the opposite direction ashard as I can go."

Dorothy's husband is Leroy Lee, the great-grandson of John D. Lee, theonly man tried and executed for the massacre. He says the writer'saccount of his great-grandfather's involvement is way off. He says,"They showed John D. Lee turn and shoot Alexander Fancher."

Plus, he says the overall message of the movie is clear. Mormons arebad people. He says he's been trying to bridge the gap between the twosides, and "September Dawn" will ruin that. "It will do damage. Thedescendants who are anti-Mormon will be happy to see that movie,"Leroy said.

Historians say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints will hate the upcoming movie. What is it about the movie thathas some church members so angry?

The movie was originally set to open tomorrow, but the studio moved itback to August 24, which they expect to be a less competitive date.

Ken Sanders Rare Books Owner, Ken Sanders, has seen the film. He saysevery member of the LDS Church in the movie is an evil person.

Sanders says, "The only Mormon who isn't depicted as evil is theconflicted son of the bishop."

Sanders says in addition to the cold blooded portrayal of the MountainMeadows Massacre, there's a scene where a man slits his wife's throatso she would atone for her sins. He says the movie is told from ananti-Mormon point of view. "We're going to forever argue over whetherBrigham Young knew about the massacre."

Sanders says there's also a scene supposedly in an LDS temple where anaked man is washed by women in their temple robes.